As a big fan of Australian pop tart Zoe Badwi,? I first discovered Walden when he remixed “Accidents Happen.”? It was an edgy yet commercial mix that highlighted the vocals with a unique flavor.?? Not long after, Walden started popping up on records by Mika, Marina & the Diamonds, and that car commercial song “In My Mind” by Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl (while everyone else was banging Axwell’s mix, I was all about Walden’s take). ?When I heard his Moroder-esque track “Our Metal Heartbeats,” that’s when it really went to a new level.? With the rise of all the young EDM producers (Madeon, Porter Robinson), it came as little surprise that Walden wasn’t even twenty, yet was already creating international buzz tracks from down under.? His current single “Intropial” is a big room stadium house production on the progressive tip complete with effected vocals, spatial breaks, explosions, and breakdowns.? When I first heard the title, I thought the track was a play on the word intropic (or changing the force of muscles) – with the track decreasing and increasing the energy with varying transitions.? It ends up that it’s actually a concept track about rebellion against an evil corporation as illustrated by the sci-fi/geek-friendly animated video.? Walden isn’t a reference to Thoreau’s transcendental wilderness experience but also to Walden Industries, the fictional corporation controlling people’s minds through evil technology.? Then again, considering Thoreau’s treatise on self-reliance maybe the two are related.? Either way, “Intropial” works on many levels – a solid club track and an introduction to a fantasy world. For all the SciFi fans out there, be sure to check out Walden’s mix of “Point Blank (Love is Blind)” by Anakyn ft Fabio Lendrum – a great Star Wars reference for those in the know.
Image Courtesy of Big Beat.